Trump Administration Sends Canadian Cannabis Stocks Plunging

Attorney General Jeff Sessions is making it easier to crack down on weed in states where it's been legalized.

Jonathan Ernst / ReutersU.S. President Donald Trump is seated with Attorney-General Jeff Sessions at the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia, U.S. Dec. 15, 2017. Sessions is reportedly planning to rescind a marijuana-friendly policy from the Obama era.

Shares of Canadian cannabis companies took a dive Thursday after news that the Trump administration may allow crackdowns on marijuana in states where it has been legalized.

From now on, AP reports, it will be up to individual prosecutors to determine whether to pursue charges in states where weed is legal.

Shares of Canadian publicly-traded cannabis companies plunged as much as 25 per cent by mid-day Thursday, before recovering some of their losses in afternoon trading. Many Canadian cannabis firms are eyeing U.S. expansion as legalization takes hold in a growing number of states.

Canopy Growth, which bills itself as the world's largest legal marijuana producer and trades on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol WEED, saw its stock price fall as much as 16 per cent during the day, before closing down nearly 10 per cent, at $32.32.

Shares in MedReleaf Corp., which had lost more than 20 per cent by mid-day, closed down 9 per cent. THC Biomed's shares plunged 25 per cent in early trading, then recovered nearly all their losses, closing down 2.5 per cent for the day.